1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a prosthetic system and the surgical methods for utilizing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prostheses are commonly utilized to repair and/or replace damaged bone and tissue in the human body. For example, a hip prosthesis may be implanted to replace damaged or destroyed bone in the femur and/or acetabulum and to recreate the natural, anatomical articulation of the hip joint. To implant a prosthesis, orthopedic surgery is performed which requires the creation of an incision in the skin of the patient and may necessitate the retraction of surrounding tissue to provide a surgeon with access to the surgical site.
To facilitate the implantation of a prosthesis, a modular prosthesis may be utilized. Modular prostheses have several individual, distinct components which are connected together to form the final, implanted prosthesis. For example, a modular femoral prosthesis may include individual stem, neck, and head components which are connected together to form the final, implanted femoral prosthesis. Additionally, any individual component, e.g., the femoral head component in a modular femoral prosthesis, may be selected from several different components having various sizes and configurations, all of which are included in the modular prosthesis system. By selecting the appropriate individual components, the surgeon may assemble a prosthesis that may closely approximate the natural anatomy of the patient.
Additionally, by utilizing modular prostheses, the size of the individual components that are implanted is lessened. As a result, the size of the corresponding incisions necessary to implant the prostheses are also lessened, allowing the surgeon to implant the prostheses using minimally invasive surgical techniques, i.e., surgical techniques that minimize trauma to soft tissue surrounding the surgical site. While utilizing minimally invasive surgical techniques provides a number of benefits, such as lessening the amount of tissue sacrificed and shortening recovery time, currently utilized modular prostheses still require significant exposure of the bone and/or joint in order to provide a surgeon with sufficient access to prepare the bone stock and properly align and size the prostheses.